Volume 15, No. 4 The Springton Lake Village April 2017 VOICE INSIDE THIS ISSUE: PENNSYLVANIA - A UNIQUE STATE Activities Corner 2 You might think you know your home state like the back of your hand, but think again. There are always new and interesting things to learn about the place you call Jewelry 2 home –from historical facts, to weird laws, to state firsts, here are some quirky and fun things you may not have known about Pennsylvania. Color Variations 3 1. The state insect is the firefly. 2. The oldest gas station in the US is located in Altoona. Birthdays 4 3. Pennsylvania is one of the few U.S. states that is a commonwealth, which has no legal meaning but emphasizes the role of the people in the state’s government. (The Management Report 4 others are Kentucky, Virginia, and Massachusetts.) 4. The third biggest city in Pennsylvania, after Philadelphia and Pittsburgh is Allen- Springton Lake Village 4 town 5. The nation’s oldest golf course is located in Clarion. LOOKING AHEAD 6. The Monongahela River, located in Western PA, is unique in that it flows north. 7. The first department store in the U.S. was located in Philadelphia. It was called • Monday, April 10th Juliets Wanamaker’s "The Grand Court". Lunch Noon 8. The only president from Pennsylvania was James Buchanan. 9. The Philadelphia Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers merged to form the Steagles • Monday, April 10th Movie for one season in 1943. The teams merged because both lost so many players to “Lion” 7PM military service during WWII. 10. One weird Pennsylvania law forbids singing in the bathtub. Another forbids the • Wednesday, April 12th sweeping of dirt underneath a rug. “Gittin Knittin” 2 PM 11. Pennsylvania has the highest Amish population in the world. Staley’s 12. Kennett Square, PA is the mushroom capital of the world. It produces one mil- lion pounds of mushrooms per year and has an annual mushroom festival. • Monday, April 17th 13. The most haunted house in the country was once considered to be the Conge- Movie “Marilyn” 7PM leier House on Ridge St. in Pittsburgh. • Monday, April 24th 14. The first complete Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton can be found in the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh. Romeos Lunch Noon 15. The world’s largest furry convention, Anthrocon, occurs in Pittsburgh every • Monday, April 24th Lec- year. ture 4PM “Boys In The 16. The first baseball stadium was built in Pittsburgh. Boat” Lyman Perry 17. In 1946, the world’s first computer was used in Philadelphia. 18. Pennsylvania was the only colony of the original thirteen that did not border the • Tuesday, April 25th Book Atlantic Ocean. Club 2PM 19. Benjamin Franklin started the country’s first zoo in Philadelphia. 20. The official state flower is the "Orange Traffic Cone"! (It really is Mountain Lau- • Tuesday, May 9th 8AM- rel.) Bird Walk with Mike Coll (Other firsts include the Library Company, the Philosophical Society, the Pennsyl- Start at path 100 Lakeside vania Hospital, University of Pennsylvania Medical School, first business school Lane (Wharton), Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, first Pharmacy School, theater, first cable television (Mahanoy City 1948—I had to throw that in!), first turnpike, first commercial radio station (KDKA), oil well, pretzel factory, escalator, roller coaster and many others. (Thanks to Gayla Stewart) Page 2 Volume 15, No. 4 One of the most delightful experiences at ACTIVITIES CORNER–APRIL Springton is enjoying the excellent food and camaraderie in the dining room. Book Club We laugh, learn and relax. We appreciate the (4th) Tuesday Get fit; feel better! other people who live here and the support we April 25th Exercise with Linda give each other. Bridge However, some discussions can be upsetting, 2:00PM 10AM every Tuesday particularly in these contentious times. Close 2PM Mondays and Thursday quarters in the dining room make it cozy, but also means conversations may be provocative Pool (Dunwoody) or disconcerting to those at an adjoining table. 10AM Wednesdays So please, out of respect for others, avoid talk- Monday, April MOVIES ing about politics and religion. (And anything 24th April 10th 7:00PM else your mother told you to not talk about at Gittin’ Knittin’ 4PM Lecture: “Lion” the table.) 2PM April12th “The Boys in If you must discuss these topics, do it before you go into the dining room or in the privacy of (Second Wednes- the Boat” April 17th 7PM your home. day) Lyman Perry “Marilyn” Thanks for your compassion and understand- Staley ing. JEWELRY A typewriter with a carriage that moves back and forth. (I was a private secre- Eileen Spinelli got these ear- tary at N. W. Ayer’s Ad Agency in Philadelphia). The Christmas tree. The next rings for a dollar at a yard one is hard to see but is a Beefeater from a trip to London. Profile for my sale in Arizona when she daughter, Susanne. The royal carriage from a trip to England. Another Christ- was visiting a friend. Her ears mas charm. A profile of my son, John. A horn of plenty from a trip to Italy. A aren't pierced and it's getting megaphone for captain of my high school cheerleaders. The last charm from harder to find clip-ons. John was A Happy Anniversary charm. The National Honor Society. Taurus for my birthday Zodiac sign. The bracelet is very precious to me. (Dori Ficca) Happy Anniversary, Presidential award (Swimming), AOA Medical Honor Society pin, College of Physicians, Jefferson Medical College, Deborah tree of life, Jefferson Nursing pin, Sailboat, my mother’s Pottsville hospital pin, Sigma Theta Tau Nursing Honor Society, Tall Ships Scrim- shaw, Temple Owl, Monogram (Thanks from Bryn Mawr Hospital for my residency years), Cam- era (Martina Martin) VOICE Page 3 COLOR VARIATIONS IN ANIMAL LIFE There are many color variations that happen in nature. For instance, the Gray squirrel can be many colors –Gray, black, white, cream colored, pie- bald and albino. These are called color morphs but they are all gray squir- rels. Raccoons are a brown, black and white mixture normally but there are also blond raccoons. White tigers are big attractions in zoos. There are also white alligators and Black squirrel white boa constrictors. Also white moose, white deer, white hippos and White alligator—note eyes elephants (not just at sales). I didn’t think were any real pink ele- phants except for those some people saw, but there are! Terms include albino. Albinism is a condition in which there is an absence of melanin, which gives color to the skin, feathers, hair and eyes. Vertebrates with albinism are not only white (or some- times pale yellowish) in color but they also have very pale eyes, Albino squirrel—pink often pink or red in color as the blood vessels show through. Pink elephant calf eyes Another is leucism (from the Greek word leukos, meaning white) which is a partial loss of pigmentation, which can make the animal have white or patchily colored skin, hair, feathers and so on, but the pigment cells in the eyes are not affected by the condition. Leucism is often mistaken for albinism, but they are two very different conditions. So next time you see an Leucistic cardinal animal you think is albino, look to see if it is only mostly white Piebald deer and, importantly, take a look at the eyes. Partial leucism results in piebald animals. A fascinating one is isabellinism . Archduchess Isabella of Austria made a bizarre pledge at the start of the 17th century. Until her husband conquered the city of Ostend and united the prov- inces of their country, she would not remove or wash her underwear. “Isabella” is the name of a color, a sort of grayish-yellow. Isabellinism Erythrism: reddish color of an animal’s fur, hair, skin, feathers or eggshells. This may be ge- netic as in Katydids. It is a dominant trait in Katydids but pink katydids are so noticeable they get eaten which is why they are so rare. Diet is another factor. Bees that feed on col- ored corn syrup (think Maraschino cherry) become red. Flamingos and others also get their color from their food. Chimeras: Chimeric animals have a mixture of genetically distinct tis- Erythristic Katydid sues that arise from two or more fertilized eggs that fused together in the womb – which means they are essentially two twins that fused together into a single creature. Vitiligo: skin loses patches of color because pigment cells (melanocytes) are Chimera destroyed for unknown reasons. Mi- chael Jackson had vitiligo. Rottweiler with vitiligo Tigers genetic variations - stripeless, normal, golden with darker orange stripes, white with black stripes The Springton Lake SPRINGTON LAKE VILLAGE Village Voice Luxury living at its finest abounds at Springton Lake Village. This “just right” commu- Martina Martin, Editor nity of 40 single homes is nestled on the Springton Lake Reservoir. Each home offers 2000 square feet of living space on one floor with an additional floor to use as needed. Also an attached two car garage. The spectacular location has breathtaking sunsets complete with birds and wildlife to be enjoyed from your deck or on the walk- ing path by the Lake. Gourmet dinners challenge the best restaurants in the area. Activities include lectures. bridge, poker, movies and many more including holiday celebrations, gourmet wine tasting dinners and many field trips. Cherished friend- 101 Longview Circle ships are formed with delightful and interesting neighbors. All this and much more Media, PA 19063-2075 are here at Springton Lake Village. This is worry-free living. The monthly bill includes: Taxes, Gas, Electric, Water and Sewer We’re on the Web! Gourmet meals Weekly house cleaning springtonlakevillage.com Heavy house cleaning, including windows inside and out, twice a year Landscaping, lawn care, snow removal, salting Outside maintenance such as gutter and dryer vent cleaning Maintenance staff on site for your daily needs Exercise room, personal trainer Health care manager Capital programs such as roof replacement, water heaters, driveway, paving, etc.